Anxiogenic-like behavior and deficient attention/working memory in rats expressing the human DISC1 gene
Journal
Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
Series/Report No.
Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
Journal Volume
179
Start Page
73-79
ISSN
0091-3057
Date Issued
2019-04
Author(s)
Wang, An-Li
Yang, Yi-Mei
Trossbach, Svenja V.
Müller, Christian P.
Korth, Carsten
Huston, Joseph P.
de Souza Silva, Maria Angelica
Abstract
In humans, mutations in the Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene have been related to psychiatric disorders, including symptoms of abnormal cognitive and emotional behaviors. In our previous studies, overexpression of the human DISC1 gene in rats resulted in schizophrenia-like phenotypes showing deficits in motor learning, impaired cognitive function and dysfunctions of the dopamine system. Here we asked, whether the DISC1 overexpression affects locomotor activity in the open field (OF), anxiety in the elevated plus-maze (EPM), depression-related behavior in the forced swim test (FST), and attention-like/short-term working-memory in the spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) in the T-maze in transgenic DISC1 (tgDISC1) rats and littermate controls (WT). TgDISC1 rats showed enhanced anxiety behavior in the EPM and an impairment in attention-like/short-term working-memory in the SAB. However, tgDISC1 animals showed no locomotor impairments or depression-like behavior in the OF and FST. These results suggest that DISC1 overexpression leads to higher anxiety level and an attention-like/working-memory deficit. These findings may expand the causal role of DISC1 in its contribution to multiple symptom dimensions of psychiatric disorders.
Subjects
Anxiogenic behavior
Attention
Cognitive dysfunction
DISC1
Working memory
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Type
journal article